Titans Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Mike Munchak(On the victory today)- “I told them, from where we were three weeks ago after the first loss, and coming back and winning three weeks in a row, it says a lot about how hard we have to work to do this. We were ready for the challenge and we were able to make plays right off of the bat with (TE Jared) Cook’s play for a touchdown. That was a big play there. The defense did a nice job in the first half especially holding them to field goals and we put some points on the board.”

(On the efficient play of QB Matt Hasselbeck today)- “He did, and again that’s the thing for us has been finding the open receiver, no matter who it is. Some people have their favorites, but he does a great job of taking what the defense gives him. He did a good job of reading the coverage and throwing to people that can make plays. He has been doing that for all four weeks that he has played for us so hopefully he can continue to get better by working with the young receivers.”

(On if he felt (RB) Chris Johnson is back after today)- “It is a start. I think we are heading in the right direction there, which was good. He had some runs and we saw some glimpses of good things. We know he can do better.”

(On the players stepping up and making plays with WR Kenny Britt hurt)- “Yeah, they did and I think that was the message all week, and even last week, when we played the most of that game without Kenny. He got hurt, I guess, in the second quarter (last week) so those guys got a little confidence last week and came in. Cook’s been in there every week making plays. He can run and he ran well after he caught that ball. It looked like Nate was going to score on his catch and the touchdown before the half was key. We got the ball back after the half and I think that touchdown really changed the momentum of the game.”

(On starting the season 3-1)- “I think none of us really knew what to expect or how we would play. I think most teams don’t know after training camp. Coming out after the preseason, how we would respond when we have to play a whole game against Jacksonville. Like I kept saying, we were frustrated with the way things went because we are a lot better than we showed that day, but we showed it in the fourth quarter. Since that fourth quarter in Jacksonville, we woke up and started playing better and our confidence has been growing the last three weeks.”

(On the play of the defense today)- “(Defensive Coordinator) Jerry Gray has done a great job. Those guys are believing. We have a lot of guys playing well and finding a way to step up and make plays. We have done a good job all year of keeping teams (under control). Coming in, statistically, they (Titans defense) were ranked number one in the league as far as defense goes. They did play a lot of plays today. When you have big plays on offense, we scored on some big plays, and when the defense scores one, you are going to be on the field a lot. They did a great job of hanging in there and keeping them out of the end zone. That was big in the first half. Cleveland did a nice job of moving the ball, especially on the first drive they went down and made some plays. Next time they got it, the same thing and our defense is doing a really good job to give us a chance.”

(On the impact of the death of former Assistant Coach Mike Heimerdinger)- “Obviously, Mike was a great coach for this organization and a very good friend to all of us. I had the opportunity to work with him and it is very sad. Prayers for Cathy and the family. I have a lot of good memories working with Mike personally. I learned a lot from him. He came in here while I was a young coach. I was in my first year as offensive line coach and he came in his first year as (Offensive) Coordinator, so we kind of worked together in our goals and had a lot of good success. We had fun butting heads and competing and he was great to work with and to work for when he was here.”

(On QB Jake Locker getting reps today)- “We felt it was nice to get him in the game and to get some snaps. It was a good time and a good chance to do that during the season.”

(On if he has been surprised with the play of QB Matt Hasselbeck)- “We thought he had a lot left in the tank watching him play us last year. We (lost) in a good game in Seattle. We felt in our system, what we do as an offense with the offensive line, we felt we could take a guy like him and protect him - then he has a lot of good years left . We didn’t bring him here just to retire. Our plan was to bring him here and do exactly what he is doing. We feel great about him not only him on the field, but with a young team and he has done a great job since he has come in here. He has set the tempo in how we practice, expectations, how he leads, how he teaches and that crossed over to the whole team.”

(On if the team has reached its goals so far)- “I think so, yeah, 3-1 is all we could have done. We could have played better in that first one so we are heading in the right direction. We are doing good things. We know we have to play a lot better in certain areas and keep having success.”

QB Jake Locker(On playing in first regular season game)- “You always have a little bit of nerves anytime it’s your first game or your one-hundredth game. There are always some nerves involved in that situation.”

WR Nate Washington(On making big plays)- “We did a good job. We’ve been working hard as a team. I think we still have a couple wrinkles that we need to iron out, but I think collectively a lot of guys stepped up and played big for our team today.”

(On starting the season 3-1)- “I’m not surprised that we’re 3-1. We work very hard. Every single man in the NFL has to put his pants on one leg at a time just like we do. Whether they count us in or count us out we still have to go out and play football. That’s what we did today. We did a good job today. We’ll take home the win today and assess the film tomorrow. We have to come out and try to get better next week.”

(On Titans defense)- “They’ve been doing a good job. They’ve been putting us in good position to make plays. Our defense has been working very hard with coach Jerry Gray. They hang their hats on coming out and trying to stop the other team. They did a good job today.”

DL Jason Jones(On Titans defense)- “We had a lot of big plays and scored a touchdown. Right now everything is clicking. If we continue to prepare like we’ve been doing every week, we’ll have many more wins.”

(On forcing ‘three and outs’)- “Getting off the field is big for us. When the offense goes out, throws the ball, drives and scores, it gives us all the confidence in the world to go out there and get the ball back.”

(On play of the secondary)- “Our secondary is [playing well]. Jason McCourty could have had two picks today. They just tell us from the back end that we just have to do our job up front.”

QB Matt Hasselbeck(On seeing anything in Browns pass defense)- “No, they are very good. Top Ten in the league in every category when it comes to the passing game, even in the red zone, number two in the league in sacks. We thought it was going to be a challenge. With the weather we didn’t know how much we were going to throw the ball. Rain was coming in off the lake, and the weather was going to be tough. So we just talked about throwing while we could, and guys stepped up and made big plays against their main coverage.”

(On big plays and not letting the Browns get back into the game)- “(S Jordan) Babineaux was awesome again. We called him “Big Play Babs” in Seattle. He just has a knack for coming up with big plays in critical situations. That was a huge play for us. I think it was a 97 yard return. That was important. As for offense I think we have done a good job all year. There are things that we do well and things we need to work on, but big plays and explosive gains are something that we have done well.”

(On a good start and feeling like a rebirth year)- “I think what’s nice is the continuity. Even though I am new, there has been a lot of continuity here. With the guys up front, it’s nice to have five guys that have played together for a long time. Even though we had a guy get hurt, the sixth guy in has been the sixth guy in for a while. Just having continuity with the teammates and with the guys, even though I’m new, they are really stable. It’s not musical chairs, which has made it a lot easier for me.”

(On getting a chance to talk to Mike Holmgren) – “I saw Coach Holmgren in the locker room after the game. It was good of me not to talk to him before the game because he would have gotten into my head. He just has the ability to do that. But I’ve got a ton of respect for him, and I owe him so much for my career. I’m happy for him and his family. I can tell the Browns are on the right track because they have great people here. Mike’s an intimidating person, just being in the same room as him. He’s got a presence about him. He has meant a lot to me.”

RB Chris Johnson(On the early 25 yard run and how it helped to get back on track) – “It meant a lot to finally get some open space and get used to being out there. Also, getting the running game going on the road instead of the way we started off the first couple weeks with negative plays. Even on the first drives we started off badly, but on the second drive when we had good field position, Coach Palmer wanted us to focus on not getting those negative plays.”

(On feeling like being back to being himself) – “I’m still working on it right now. I’ve had ok days of work. But I’m just still working and trying to get better.”

(On getting 100 yards and helping with confidence) – “Of course it helps. Trying to get over the 100 yard mark for the first time this season, and trying to get the ball moving, keeping drives moving, helps. Creating more chances to get more touches on the ball always helps. When you can get live work on Sundays, when you are up and running the ball to run the clock out, your confidence comes back.”